Iran leave peace note after Belgium draw at World Cup
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- Iran's national football team left a handwritten note in their dressing room after a 0-0 draw with Belgium at Los Angeles Stadium, their second Group G match, calling for 'peace, respect and friendship' to 'prevail among all nations.'
- The message, released by the Football Federation of Iran (FFIRI), specifically referenced the attack on a girls' school in Minab where at least 168 people were killed on the first day of the war with the United States.
- Head coach Amir Ghalenoei labelled his squad the 'most oppressed' team at the tournament after their 2-2 opening draw with New Zealand, citing travel restrictions and visa denials imposed on the delegation.
- Multiple 'integral' backroom staff were denied entry visas and the FFIRI's ticket allocation was revoked on the eve of the tournament, prompting the federation to demand FIFA 'uphold the principles of neutrality, fairness, and established regulations.'
- Iran relocated their World Cup base from Arizona in the US to Tijuana, Mexico, and operate under visa conditions that allow them to fly in a day before a match and leave the same day.
- Andrew Giuliani, executive director of the White House's World Cup taskforce, said 'discussions are going on' about the travel window for Iran's final group game against Egypt in Seattle on 27 June (04:00 BST).
Why it matters: Iran used the dressing room — not the pitch — to deliver a diplomatic statement during a World Cup co-hosted by a country it is at war with, and specifically named the Minab school massacre (168 dead) as a grievance. The White House's taskforce is now publicly negotiating easing the very travel restrictions that prompted Iran's coach to call his team 'the most oppressed' at the tournament.
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